Alumni Oration

"New Light From Dark Days" Daily Gleaner (14 May, 1948). (UA Case 67a, Box 2)

Mr. Chairman, Your Lordship, Your Honor, Distinguished Guests, Fellow Alumni:

A distinguished after-dinner speaker, when asked what he thought of after-dinner speeches, replied that since the speaker did not have to listen, he had no great objection, and since it gave him an opportunity to impose upon his audience ideas which they would avoid, if possible, but which were dear to his own heart, and which he believed vital to the country, he high highly approved.

For this privilege tonight, I am honored and in the name of Education, which I represent, I thank Dr. Petrie, and all who were responsible for the invitation extended to me to give this address.

However, I feel like the lady in the story I heard some time ago. Her husband recently became a judge, and many friends called to congratulate him. Finally, his poor wife turned and said to her husband, "Now that you are a judge, what am I, dear?" "You," he said, "you’re the same old fool you always were." Well, I feel like "the same old fool." I am still a teacher, and when the opportunity is given to say a word in the interest of education, it seems I cannot resist.

The greatest Shakespearean scholars are agreed that a task was laid upon Hamlet to which he was unequal. Whether Shakespeare did this purposely or not, we do not know, but we do know that the students of Shakespeare are still struggling over Hamlet’s problems.

Am I standing in Hamlet’s shoes, and will you say, as did Victor Hugo, "Hamlet was the supreme tragedy of the human dream"?

Is education, the subject on which I have been asked to speak, the supreme tragedy of the human dream. Or is it the guiding star to lead the world far from the same old madness of the tragedy of "Hamlet," which tried to avenge the crimes of the past by dealing ruthlessly with every demand of the social and moral order?

Similar Background

The setting, the background of "Hamlet" and Education, are somewhat similar. The scene of "Hamlet" laid in the island of Elsinore, that entrancing romantic island off the coast of Denmak, with the sea lashing along the coast and the turrets of the old castle towering above the trees, was a setting in which peace and prosperity might have been found, but where tragedy stalked. Shakespeare might have produced a masterpiece of life, but, alas, he produced a masterpiece of death. This masterpiece of human genius leaves us unsatisfied. Shakespeare lost the opportunity to put into Hamlet’s dying words the light and hope through which future generations might avoid the tragedy of despair. Education, too, has a noble background. We today must live up to our heritage.

As Old as the Ages

Education is as old as the ages. It goes back to the earliest records of civilization. It belonged to the sages, the wise men, the prophets. Records dating from 200 B.C. contain many beautiful and important literary works. Numerous business contracts and letters written in the common language of the common people date back to 1 A.D. Private accounts containing prices of bread and milk for children have been discovered. A letter of the same period contains the words, "Don’t be afraid about the rent; you will certainly get it." Contracts for apprenticeship, police court records, tax lists and methods of collection read like our morning newspapers. Many a document of these early days refers to capital and labor troubles. In Pompeii, the officers of the city were elected democratically. Orators were accustomed to travel accompanied by their secretaries. Even their secretaries were given two years training at shorthand schools which charged fees, and claimed to make their students, at the end of the course, read and write the system expertly. Would that this could be accomplished today! Records of the third and fourth centuries show that governments were interested most in resolutions connected with the transport of military supplies and the regulations of items such as grain and yarn. One record reads, "The commission decided officially that the price demanded for yarn should be cut over forty per cent—much to the disgust of the Guild of Cloth Weavers." How familiar this sounds today! Have we been reading from the writings of 251 A.D. of from Hansard of 1948, with its discussion of freight rates? And so we could trace the history of civilization and the products of the schools down through the centuries.

The Great Search

It is apparent that from early times educators have sought a form of education which would enable each individual to develop the particular talents with which he has been endowed to fit himself for living in this world at peace with his neighbors; and to prepare himself for the next. Democratic countries the world over are seeking such a form of education. We, in Canada, in New Brunswick, are experimenting and specializing. But, as we have seen, the Chinese, the Greek and Roman systems, were as elaborate, as specialized as anything we have thought of in this country, which prides itself on specialization. It is not a new idea. The Vocational, Agricultural, Fine Arts, Academic and University preparation courses, have come and gone and now are come again. But, we have made progress in our school systems, and vast improvements in our school buildings and equipment. Even teachers’ salaries and pension allowances have been improved.

Need of Thinkers

But, are we producing thinkers—men and women great enough to solve the difficult problems were are now facing and to bring about real peace in the world? Are we satisfied with the product of our making? Are we willing to admit that our failures and shortcomings have had something to do with the present unsettled world conditions> Are we prepared to search deep within our hearts and say, "No, I have not made of myself the man or woman with the influence for good I might have, had I used fully the education I have received." Then, let us determine to see that those with whom we come in contact will be stronger in character and mind because of the great privileges that have been ours in graduating from their grand old college, on this beautiful hill, in this historic city. Then may we go forward to become world citizens, of whom this University, this Associated Alumni, may indeed be proud, because we are men and women of industry so genuine, so given to doing the hard and difficult tasks, we have a contempt for people who make a "marvelous pretence and promise of performance."

Must Work Together

There is only one way in which we can be thus successful. The teachers, professors, educational authorities, business men and government officials must work together around a common table; we must arrange our work so that it will be a solid unit from kindergarten to the university. There must be no friction. The students who go from our schools must realize that we stand for right—right character training, right mental training, right and justice for all. We must develop a race of liberty-loving and God-fearing people if our nation is to fulfill its possibilities. Mere survival, the providing of physical welfare, the providing of recreational facilities and amusements may satisfy the immediate needs of the individual, but man is a superior being, and mere physical satisfaction which does not raise him to a high intellectual level will not satisfy. Survival only for shorter hours of work and more hours in which to become bored with life may become a vicious circle, a circle in which boredom will lead to distrust and disappointment, that fertile soil in which the seeds of dissension can so easily take root.

The problem of the world is to create in man’s mind not dissension and warfare, but principles upon which peace can be built. This is the task of education.

In Stockholm

Are skills enough? I am reminded of my visit to Stockholm in 1939. I visited that world famous educational plant in which every trade, craft, art, agricultural and academic branch of education was being carried on. I was thrilled by the enormity of the undertaking, yet in my mind, was the burning question, "Are they producing thinkers greater than under the Greek and Latin systems?" My thoughts must have carried to the mind of my guide for she turned to me and asked, "Are you considering this form of education in your country?" I replied, "Yes, isn’t it wonderful?" "Oh," said she, "do not go too far in this direction. We are finding our students are becoming mechanically minded, worldly minded; they are thinking too much of a living only. We do not seem to be producing the deep thinkers we once had." This may be true—it may not; I am not prepared to say, yet, it is a warning. Whatever form of training we are giving our students, we must train them to think for themselves, and to think accurately; and yet, "O, Thinking how many crimes are committed in thy name!" To think, one must know. Accurate thinking is based on full knowledge. Weaklings try to make education painless, but the Master Craftsmen, the great artists, have spent endless hours to produce their masterpieces. Long years of experiment have been required by the scientists. Why then should we expect to develop the brain power of this generation through softness. The records of Harvard and Yale over many years show that more than 50% of the top scholars achieve distinction in life, whereas only about seven per cent of all their graduates become distinguished. Today, it is the man who knows who is in demand. We must not be misled by such ideas as, "There is better preparation for life in student activities than in the lecture room." This is a weak man’s excuse. It is the line of least resistance. All play and no work makes just as dull a boy as all work and no play. We must not be carried away by every breath of wind that blows. We must grow roots which will go down deep enough that this tree of education can resist any wind. We must make the educational system of this country one which will train its people to know where they are going and what they expect to accomplish. Our people must have character sufficiently strong to recognize and resist evil in any form.

The Definition

Recently, I came across the following definition of an Educated Man "The Educated Man," it ran, "is one with subtle, spiritual qualities, which make him calm in adversity, happy when alone, just in his dealings, rational and sane in the fullest meaning of that word in all the affairs of his life." In this group tonight there are those who are on the threshold of life, those who are about to receive degrees for which they have worked hard. To these, and to ourselves of years of experience, I say, "Are we satisfying this definition of An Educated Man?"

To those who are entering the literary world, there is a greater challenge than ever before. The records of our public libraries show that fiction is the most popular representation of human life. Complaints have been made that in modern books, there is an increasing tendency to ignore education and especially the teaching profession as an agency in the building of character. That education and religion have, in so many novels and screen productions, been the object of ridicule, has been a blot upon modern fiction. This is a field in which our graduates can be apostles of true freedom. We have a right to meet the teacher and the preacher in fiction on a level as high as that of the business man and those of other professions. True enough, the teacher and the preacher have had to live on a much lower financial level; they have had to spend their dollars through the middle and on both ends, while authors of a certain type of book may acquire wealth by pandering to low standards of taste. But, good writers may acquire wealth too. Forty years ago, Rudyard Kipling was reported to be getting a dollar a word. One U.S. inquirer wrote the poet, "I hear you sell literature at one dollar per word. Enclosed find dollar for sample." Kipling kept the dollar and wrote back one word "Thanks." Later he received another letter from the same customer: "Sold the 'Thanks' for two dollars. Enclosed find forty-five cents, being half the profit, less cost of postage."

Richness of Reward

I do not expect that any teacher will ever receive much financial reward for "Thanks," and yet the teacher and the preacher have their reward—a wealth which is not measured by gold or silver, but in the richness of experience, in contact with what is life itself in all its varying phases. It is their privilege to touch the hearts and to set imagination afire. IT is theirs to put into the hearts of human beings the courage and determination to make "more stately mansions." If the novelists of today would build their plots around the lives of great statesmen, great professional men, great financial men, great teachers and preachers, and great "little men," the power they could exert for Freedom, Unity and Peace would be immeasurable.

Character Needed

Let us not lose sight of that definition of an educated man. The late columnist, Howard Vincent O’Brien, once said. "Discussing matters with some young folk the other night, I was interested to discover that they set more store on brains than I did. I think we have gone too far in respecting cleverness. The world is in its present mess because character, the glue which holds society together, has been allowed to dry out. We have come unstuck and we shall certainly fall apart unless somehow, we can put the moral virtues back in fashion. Has not the time come when professional people, the tradesmen, the industrialists, must discipline themselves and their members?"

Nations have come and gone and many are long forgotten, the cause of their downfall may be attributed to selfishness, greed, persecution of minorities, love of power, and lack of foresight.

World in Upheaval

In this world of upheaval, we must pause, wonder and ask ourselves, "What is my part in preventing another 'supreme tragedy of the human dream'?" If education is to be the guiding star of world recovery, it must being with the individual, with you and me. It must radiate from us just as the waves from the broadcasting station go to the ends of the earth, carrying with them power either for good or evil. Education is not confined to the universities, to the schools.

This world is moving forward somewhat like the Chambered Nautilus. Each year’s development is a unit in itself, and yet the thread of life connects the past and the present. As with the Cambered Nautilus, our strength must be drawn from the past and great business men of vision and foresight are delving into the future, and with their energy, their time, and their money, are making it possible for men and women to study and to travel to see the world as it is, and to realize that it is not made up of bricks and stones but of human beings like themselves who can either make of it a place where peace may abide of where hatred and strife hold sway.

Unique Scholarships

Some years ago, the present Chancellor of this University established a unique type of scholarships, the generosity of which was applauded by all citizens of the province. A full university course was made available to both boys and girls who have shown promise. Was the world coming to an end? No, not coming to an end, but just opening its doors to enthusiastic young people, who, in many cases would otherwise have been unable to train themselves for great tasks. I regret to say that at a later date, the administering committee limited this scholarship to boys. I need say no more about these scholarships and others of more recent date. They have spoken for themselves.

A Cinderella Party

But that amazing man did even more, to the end of our days, that fairy story we lived as members of a teachers’ party, known as the Lady Beaverbrook Party (for our late charming hostess) will be remembered by the fortunate recipients of those traveling scholarships. We still regale our pupils with Cinderella stories of our first real thrills in the great wide world. For, what teacher in the class room on salaries then barely large enough to keep body and soul together ever dreamed of being entertained at a vice-regal lodge, and at Buckingham Palace? Who of us dreamed of meeting and talking with England’s great statesmen, great teachers, and great writers, to say nothing of the other experiences which thrilled us, and which have thrilled and inspired our pupils ever since? Yes, this was a fairy story that will go down in history, and yet it was but the beginning.

Big Business Sees

Lord Beaverbrook’s vision has spread and is spreading to "big business" for "big business" is realizing that it is the individual men and women, their employees, who must have foresight and determination, men and women who must be able to see not just around the corner, but far into the future, if economic conditions are to become stabilized and the wheels of business once more be turning smoothly.

Banks, insurance companies and other commercial establishments are pouring large sums of money into the projects of the Canadian Educational Association for research into public school systems, and research into health conditions. They are providing funds for scholarships, for teacher and student exchanges. Would the public of fifty years ago have believed that the business world would ever take such interest in education? And yet, with all this there is still one great step to take.

Clear to the Bottom

Big business must reach down to the very beginning, to the primary grades, and it must work right up through to the top. It must insist that none but the best and most carefully trained, the teacher with vision and inspiration, is to be placed in charge of the country’s greatest assets, its young people.

Teachers Especially Chosen

The profession of education needs people who can reach the very soul of the individual and quicken his spiritual life and who have a burning desire to teach. Yes, tremendous improvements have been made in this province in the school buildings and in the financial and administrative set-up in the last ten years, and yet, my challenge to you tonight is to see that every school and class room is staffed with teachers who have been especially chosen, who are of sufficient age and experience, with proper training and morale to develop and train. I repeat, the most important asset of this province, its children.

And, as I look over this audience and welcome back some who have not been here for years, I am reminded of Dr. Sandiford’s remark to an audience of teachers some time ago: "One great export of New Brunswick has been its brain power." Have we not been exporting this product long enough? Is it not time that our brain power should find scope at home?

May those of you who are graduating tomorrow remember that great privileges are for you in this province, in Canada, in this Commonwealth of ours. Yours is a great heritage. This great country calls for your best effort—leadership. You are the potential statesmen, medical man, layers, engineers, scientists, preachers and teachers.

The Great Duty

Is it not the duty of parents and officials now and in the future to see that the proper value is place upon the brain power of our province and that it is not stunted through insufficient mental food and activity. Young, inexperienced, insufficiently trained teachers can do irreparable damage: mistakes made in early years may warp the mental power of the individual forever. Wrong habits formed in the early grades are seldom changed. Many a bright, eager mind has been dulled through inactivity long before it reaches high school age. Mental retention has been weakened, because these brighter children have been allowed to travel at the speed of the average or slow ones. Slow brains have been ruined because of unskilled leadership. The tragedies that are being committed in the name of education are only slightly less than those of "Hamlet."

At least Four Years

The time has come when every teacher from the lowest grade to the highest should have at least four years of training in the field in which his or her special talent lies. The profession must be made so attractive, it will attract and retain the people who were born to teach.

The two years of training which is now on the horizon should be followed by at least two more in a specialized Education Department on this very bill. Scholarships should be available for specially talented students and salaries commensurate with their abilities and responsibilities should be provided.

The Deans Mistake

There is a double warning in the experience of a dean of a certain university. The Dean, at regular intervals, interviewed two students of very different types. The one was especially brilliant and gifted. The Dean has selected him as a prospective outstanding teacher or professor in years to come. His ability to get along with others was outstanding. He liked teaching, but when the time came to investigate the opportunities for employment, greater assurance of promotion was offered in business than in the teaching profession and society lost an excellent prospective teacher. The brain power of the children, the one thing in the universe which cannot be bought nor sold but which must be developed through careful training was left to others.

The second boy entered college with an objective of vocational teaching. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father who was a successful teacher. His ability only average. He failed on many examinations, but after repeating examination after examination, he finally received his diploma. The Dead dreaded the time when he would be asked for a recommendation. He admired the boy’s grit and tenacity, and he did wonder, whether the boy’s character and patience might not be just what the slower type of child might need. The boy did not ask for a recommendation. He secured his own position. This boy made an outstanding success with slow developing students. Yes, this is fine, but the brilliant boy should also have been saved for the teaching profession to challenge the brain power of other brilliant minds.

Will the time ever come when the general public will realize this and give to these people the chance to live and perform those tasks for which they are specially endowed?

Story from Quebec

Now, lest you think I am still in Hamlet’s shoes, and lest any who are in the teaching profession or who are considering it may feel that such a life is nothing but drudgery and hardship, lest the parents may feel that the teacher is not always doing his or her utmost, may I quote from a little story by C.R. Rouleau—"School in the Old French Province, 1870." The school mistress had her own worries, sizeable ones, too. One year she numbered among her pupils, twins, identical in appearance and in utter lack of brains, and these belonged to a family well-known for the "over-sensitiveness of its members." To have these twins pass even the simplest of examinations seemed an utter impossibility, but, after much cogitation, she hit up a plan. Now, while most of the cure’s questions on examination day were unpredictable, he invariably began with two pet queries. Therefore, the school mistress started to teach the twins the answer to these two pet questions. Every day for some weeks, she put to each child one single question, always the same one to that particular twin. Of the first, she would ask, "Who created you and gave you life?," to which, of course, the simple answer was, "God"; and of the second twin, she would ask, "Who was the wisest of all men?" to which that pupil would dutifully reply, "Solomon." At last, this simple lesson was so well learned the teacher awaited the day of final examinations with a ray of hope, but on that fateful morning, just as the class lined up before the cure, the twin who stood first in line left the school room. The cure began his questioning as usual and turning to the remaining twin who now stood first, asked him the expected question: "Who created you, my boy?" "Solomon" promptly piped up the boy with satisfied assurance. The cure smiled; "Well, well are you quite sure? Now try again. Who created you? Who gave you life?" "Solomon," reiterated his young parishioner, with unshakeable conviction. "Come, come, now!" urged the cure, patiently. "I really do not think it cold have been Solomon. Now think a bit. Wasn’t it God?" "Oh, no!" contradicted the twin, shaking his head with finality. "The one God created has just went outside." And we say intelligence is lacking; no, not lacking, just dormant.

Let us now leave Hamlet, and face our problems with the patience of that school mistress of 1870.

Education Important

May we go from this dinner with the conviction that Education in all its branches is an important industry and may we realize that this Glorious Old Institution has brought new light from the past and can bring even brighter light to the future.

To the Memories

To the memory of our class mates who lie in Flanders Fields, to the memory of the professors who have gone to their great reward, may we bow our heads in thankfulness for the inspiration we receive from them. To those who are carrying on the great traditions of the past—keep your standards high; to the graduates of tomorrow—go forward to make a better world: to ourselves—may we guard against lulling our minds into believing that the liberty of the democratic countries is not in grave danger today.

Task of the Individual

When we are tempted to say, "what difference does it make what I do, what I talk about, what I teach?", when we feel helpless and say that one individual can do nothing to improve conditions, let us remember that if we do our part, perform our duty as we see it, and if enough people follow our course, something will be accomplished. Some people will be impressed with our ideas; they may even think it was they who originated the idea (stranger things have happened), but what difference does it make? The important thing is that the seed has been planted, or to change the figure, the candle of democratic liberty has not gone out.

Let it not be said we lack sufficient initiative, sufficient spirit of self-sacrifice to keep those lights burning. Rather let it be said our educational institutions have brought new light from the past, and that their power which was once measured by candle light has now become strong enough to drive the generators which will keep the "light of liberty" in a democratic country burning brightly forever.

"Thought is a wonderful crucible,
Wherein ores, dull and gray,
May be transmuted into gems
Of Truth, to light our Way."